Stretcher



June 12, 1945. R. c, HU HE 2,377,940

STRETCHER Filed Dec 29, 1942 Min-. 5,- F7616,- Z/0 PM; fl y PatentedJune 12, 1945 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Robert 0. Hughes, Paoli, Pa.

I Application December 29, 1942, Serial No. 470,429

11 Claims.

In case ofaccident to the human body, and particularly any accidentcharacterized by broken bones, it is always important, and often ofvital importance, to prevent any additional injury to the body in thecourse of transportation from the locus of the accident to a hospital orhospital base. In the case of broken bones, any serious displacement,before hospital treatment, beyond that produced by the accident itself,often produces conditions that make the remedial measures of thephysician or surgeon more difii- 'cult and may, in some cases, preventcompletely successful bodily repair. Indeed, in some cases, fataloutcomes arise not from the inherently serious character of the bodilyinjury, but from secondary injuries incurred during transport of themake it dimcult or impossible to correctly or completely diagnose thecharacter or extent of the injuries at the locus of the accident.

A preferred embodiment of a the invention is shown in the accompanyingdrawing, in which-- Fig. 1 is a plan view of the carrier or stretcher.

Fig. 215 a side view of the same with a human body in position thereonand secured in rigid relation thereto.

Fig. 3 is a plan view of Fig. 2.

i Fig, 4 is a perspective view of the stretcher when not in use.

Fig; 5 is a perspective view of a detail.

The base comprises a flat board or plate preferably comprising twosections a and a hinged together so as to permit the foot section a tobe folded under the main section a, as shown in Fig.

4, to attain compactness in transportation. The

any disturbance of such rigidity is to maintain H umn withoutinvolvement of injury to the spinal cord; any deviation from rigidityfollowing the accident being attended with danger of injury to thespinal cord and consequent paralysis or death.

The object of my inventionis to provide a stretcher which includesequipment whereby the entire body, after careful deposit on the carrieror stretcher, may be readily and quickly secured thereto in such amanner as to insure; not only that the body will be maintained in fixedposition on the carrier or stretcher, but also that all parts of thebody will be maintained iniixed relative positions until the hospitalbase is reached. Incidentally, my improved stretcher is adapted tomaintainfa broken leg or arm in fixed position relative to the bodytrunk, even though the equipment is not so manipulated as to hold theentire body rigid; but a primary advantage of the invention is itsadaptability to guard against all secondary injuries where conditionsbase-board section a is provided with a slightly arched plate bextending along the longitudinal center of section a. This plate may besubstantially narrower than the base-board but it is Wide relatively toits own thickness. Its deviation from flatness is just sufficient togive it a contour corresponding to the natural concavity of the humanback.

The body is strapped to the base-board by means of straps e, c and d, 01carried by the respective sections a, and a. The straps d, d are securedto arms 11', d, each of which is one member of a hinge the other memberof which is secured to the face of section a of the base-board. Eachmember at is adapted to swing, from a position fiat'against the fixedmember, upward into the vertical position shown in the drawing.

To maintain the body under longitudinal tension, the following means areprovided to connect the hands and the feet. At the foot of section a isan arm e carrying a fork between the prongs of which are carried twopulleys g. The arm e is preferably formed by securing one member h of ahinge to the under face of the section a, the other member of the hinge(constituting the arm 2) being swingable, from a position under and fiatagainst the member it, through an arc of 270, into, but not beyond, theposition shown in Fig. 2. Around each pulley g extends a rope 1 providedat one end with an extension or hitch which is engageable with the footand ankle in known manner. The other end of the rope is provided with aloop is which is connected with the wrist by means of a strap. Thisstrap is constructed as shown in Fig. 5. Between its ends it is formedinto a closed loop in through which thehand is'slipped. One end m of thestrap injuries.

is provided with a series of perforations m The other end 121, of thestrap is provided with a buckle m slidable along the end m and adaptedto engage any of the perforations. Before such engagement one end of thestrap is slipped through the loop lc. Thereby the ropes i may be drawntaut to exert a downward pull on both the arms and legs, the body as awhole being thereby maintained under longitudinal tension,

To'further maintain body rigidity the baseboard is provided withan arm-n, secured-to about the center of the base-board (that is, near thelower end of section a) and adapted to engage the crotch at the junctionof the legs to the body; and with two other arms and 0' located neartheupper end of the base-board and adjacentits .opposite side edges. Eachof these arms is preferably formed by hinges, one member of which .issecured to the face of the base-board and the other of which,constituting the arm specified'is adapted to swing into, but-not beyond,an'upright position. Eachof these rarms-isiproyided witha hook p andtension springsm'a-nd 'r' are .adapted to connect the hook of arm .nwiththe hooks of arms 0 and 0 respectively.

Displacement of the head is prevented by :the followingmeans: secured tothe base-board :near the upper end ther'eof and adjacent its oppositeside edges are two arms s, s, which,-also, are preferably formed byhinges .one member of each of which is secured to the :-face of thebase-board while the other member, constituting. the specified arm, isadapted to: swing into, :but. not beyond, an upright position. Fastenedto the .arms s, s are straps t, t, which are adaptedto be .brought overthe forehead and mutually en aged. .Two other straps u and u arefastened to the armsls. s, and are adapted to be brought under the-chinand mutually engaged.

In the event'that it is unnecessary, or for any reason undesirable (as.for instance in 1the:case of a broken leg or legs with uninjuredarm-s)t maintain the arms rigid or under longitudinal tension, the board isprovided, at :its .QDDosite :side

edges, with two =cleats 17, mm lateral alignment, around which the endsof ropes i, i may -be wound, thereby maintaining longitudinal tensionupon the legs. Kit is "thus possible to :maintain longitudinal tensionupon either .or both legs, upon either leg and its corresponding :anm,or upon both legs and both arms.

Certain :of .the swingable hinge members, and particularly n, o and s,shou1d:be;padded to avoid possible harmful :pressure upon the :part ofthe body against which it is forcibly confined.

. All the described appliances cooperate :to hold the entire body in:the rigid condition required to prevent displacement 0f any brokenbone, especially of the back or neck. Tranefeiwof the body from thelocus of injury to :a hospital base may be attended, as hereinbeforedescribed, with Zunavoidable jolting and jarring :movements of thebase-board,v and other-deviations from radesirable, but impossible,horizontal position of ,rest. .Such movements, however, effectcorresponding movements of the body lonlyras a unit, The various partsof the body'are notsubjecttorelative-movement and therefore are {notsubject to secondary As shown in Fig. 4, *when the stretcher .isnot inuse, the lower section a may beswungagainst the uppersection b andithevariousmoyablehinge members swung :down flat against .the fixed hingedmembers, therebyso reducing the .overall dimensions of thearticle that.ammnberof them may be readily carried to the locus of the accident.

What I. claim and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

1. A stretcher comprising a flat rigid baseboard and means to hold ahuman body in rigid relation with the base-board; said means comprisingan arm secured to the base-board midway between its side edges and atsuch longitudinal position that it may engage the body at the crotch ofthe legs, two arms secured, in lateral alignment, to the base-boardadjacent opposite vside edges thereof and at such longitudinal positionas to overlie the shoulders, and tension :springs adapted to connect thefirst named arm with the other two arms respectively.

'2. 'A'stretcheras defined in claim 1 in which said arms eachconstituteone member of a hinge the other member of which is secured to the faceof the base-board, the axes of said hinges extending in alateraldirection relative to the baseboard.

3. A stretcher comprising .a .fiat rigid baseboard and means to holdahuman body in rigid relation with the base-board; two pulleys, means,secured to the-foot of the base-board, adapted to support said pulleysin .fixed relation :to, and above, the face .of the base-board, andropes extending around saidpulleys, one end .of one rope being adapted.to .be hitched about one .foot and one end of the other .rope beingadapted .to be hitched about the other foot, .loops .at the other endsof saidropes, and straps eachhaving aloop adapted to engage the wristand two endsadapted to engage the loop .on the end of the correspondingrope, one of which .strap .ends .is .adjustably engageable with theother to thereby impose thedesired tension on .the rope.

4. A stretcher comprising a flat rigid .baseboard, a thin slightlyarched plate extending longitudinally of the base-boardand whose endslie fiat against the base-board and are secured thereto, said platebeing adapted to underlie and .firmly support thespinal'columnof a humanbody recumbent .on the base-board, and means to hold the body in rigidrelation with the base-board.

5. A stretcher comprising .a base-board .com- .posed .of upper and lowersections, means foldably connecting said sections whereby said .sectionsmay be folded with onesectionlbeneath the other section into-non-useposition or may be extended into aligned relationship and maintained riidly therein for use, the upper section bein substantially longer than.the lower section, a thin slightly arched plate extendinglongitudinallyof, and substantiall shorter than, the upper section ofthe base-board, the ends .of {said plate lying flat againstsaiduppersection and secured thereto, said arched plate being locatedsubstantially nearer the .lower end than the upper .end of said uppersection, and means ,toihold thelbody in rigid relation with thebase-board when the sections are inaligning .relation.

-6. A stretcher comprising a flat, rigid baseboard and means .to .holdalhuman bodyin rigid relation with the base-board; .two pulleys, means,

.secured to the foot of the base-board, adapted to support =said,pulleys in fixed relation to, and above, the face of the base-,board,,ropesextending around .said pulleys, the end of each rope having .aloop adapted to be hitched about 'one :foot .of a patient on thebase-board, strap secured to the other ends of the ropes andadapted tobe engaged about the wrists of said patientand toiimnose a tension onsaid'connections between the feet and arms to thereby exert a downwardpull on both arms and legs and thus tend to maintain the body of thepatient under longitudinal tension.

7. A stretcher as defined in claim 6 comprising also cleat atapproximately opposite edges of the base-board and in lateral alignmentand around which said ropes may be wound, to thereby afford analternative means to exert a downward pull upon the legs if themaintenance of the arms under tension is undesirable or unnecessary.

8. A stretcher comprising a fiat rigid baseboard and means to hold ahuman body in'rigid relation with the base-board; two pulleys, means,secured to the foot of the base-board, adapted to support said pulleysin fixed relation to, and above, the face of the base-board, ropesextending around said pulleys, one end of one rope being adapted to behitched about one foot and one end of the other rope being adapted to behitched about the other foot, and means engageable with the other endsof the ropes to enable the application and maintenance of a pullingtension upon the legs; said pulley-supporting means comprising a hingeone member of which is so secured flat against the lower face of thebase-board that the axis of the hinge extends laterally at the extremelower edge of the base-board and the other member of which carries thepulleys and is adapted to swing from a position flat against thefirstnamed member through a wide are into an upright position above theupper face or the base-board.

9. A stretcher comprising a flat rigid baseboard, and means to securethe body of the patient in rigid relation to th base-board, said meansincluding an arm secured to the baseboard midway between its side edgesand in such longitudinal position that it may engage the body of thepatient at the crotch of the legs, arms secured to the base-board atsuch longitudinal position as to overlie the shoulders, connectionsbetween the first named arm and the other two arms adapted to exert apulling forc on both, and means adapted to be connected with the armsand feet of the body of the patient and exert a downward pull on both;whereby the whole body or the patient below the neck, including thetrunk, legs and arms, is maintained under longitudinal tension.

10. A stretcher comprising a flat rigid baseboard, and means to hold thehead of a human body in rigid relation with the base-board; said m anscomprising arms of rigid material secured, in lateral alignment, to thehead end of the baseboard on opposite sides thereof and adapted toengage opposite sides of the head of the body, and straps adapted torespectively overlie the forehead, and underlie the chin, of the bodyand secured at opposite ends to said arms.

11. A stretcher as defined in claim 10 in which said arms eachconstitutes one member of a hinge the other member of which is securedto the face of the base-board, the axes of said hinges extending in alongitudinal direction relative to the base-board.

ROBERT C. HUGHES.

